1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to openable rigid panels arranged in the roof structure of automobiles, and in particular to upwardly pivotable rigid roof vent panels which, when closed, sealingly engage a roof opening in flush alignment with the curvature of the roof structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of openable rigid roof panels are known from the prior art. Most of these are so-called sliding roof panels which are opened by lowering one panel portion and by retracting the panel under the adjacent stationary roof portion. Other sliding roof panels are openable in two modes, by either lowering and retracting the panel, or by upwardly pivoting the rear portion of the panel. These sliding roof structures have received widespread acceptance in connection with present-day passenger cars, because the openable roof panel is relatively rigid and, when closed, forms a substantially continuous contour with the surrounding roof portions.
Also known from the prior art are roof structures with openable vent panels where the rear part of the panel is pivotable upwardly from the roof opening, while the front end of the panel is lowered under the adjacent stationary roof portion so as to permit at least partial retraction of the vent panel under the forward stationary portion of the roof structure. Still other known roof vent panels are openable by a simple upward pivoting motion on one panel edge, a hinge being provided at the opposite edge.
These known prior art structures have various shortcomings, among them being their not very attractive outward appearance and their inadequate size. Also, most of these prior art roof vent panels are difficult to assemble and, because of their complexity, are costly in production and therefore competitively inferior.